Outdoor portable shelters such as tents have been used to provide temporary shelter and protection from the sun, wind, precipitation, harsh temperatures, condensation, biting insects, and other outdoor elements for workers, equipment, and outdoor enthusiasts for many years. Aside from protecting an interior volume from the elements, modern day shelters should be quick to set-up and portable. To be portable, the temporary shelter should be lightweight so it is easily carried to a proposed site as well as easy to assemble and disassemble.
Most conventional tents are configured with a floor that is made of a heavier material than that used for the portions of the tent that will not be in contact with the ground. The weight of the heavier material used to construct the floor of these tents makes up a significant portion of the overall weight of the tent. The floor is often configured with loops at fixed locations along the perimeter of the tent for receiving a stake that sets or fixes the floor of the tent to the ground. These floors are often configured with additional hardware and or loops for locating and receiving an end of a flexible support rib. Once all the support ribs are flexed and set at their designated receiving ends in or near the perimeter of the floor, the upper panels of the tent can be supported from the ribs. Some conventional tents use sleeves formed or otherwise attached to the outer surface of the upper panels of material to suspend the tent. Other conventional tents use hooks connected to tabs or other extensions that are sewn to the upper panels of the tent to suspend the tent under the support ribs. Many of these conventional tents use a rain fly to further shelter the tent.
A rain fly protects the tent from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. In addition to protecting the tent from the sun, a rain fly provides an additional barrier in the rain and snow, can help keep sparks from a fire or wood stove away from the exterior surface of the tent and when set up correctly can provide an insulating layer when it is cold. Conventional rain flies are made from a relatively lightweight fabric made from man-made fibers (e.g., nylon, polyester) with canvas ties or other heavier fabrics used together with hook and loop fasteners for fixing the rain fly to support ribs. The fabric is often treated or coated with various waterproofing and fire resistant agents. When appropriate, a hole for a stove jack or vent will be formed with canvas or reinforced webbing.
Some outdoor enthusiasts prefer to travel with as little gear as possible. For example, some hikers and climbers when faced with transporting food, water, fuel, a sleeping bag and roll, a portable shelter and perhaps additional items including a community shelter for meeting, cooking, or other functions will elect to carry a relatively lightweight rain fly with the necessary support ribs rather than a conventional tent with a floor.
However, absent the orientation and resistance provided by a conventional tent with a floor, a lightweight rain fly or other lightweight portable shelter without a floor can be difficult if not impossible to set-up by oneself. Setup of a lightweight cover, such as a rain fly, is problematic for at least the reason that it is difficult to align and flex the various ribs into their desired orientation absent the footprint provided by the floor of the corresponding tent.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop an apparatus and various methods that overcome these shortcomings.